Is there a new cell phone antenna installation in this photo here? Yes, but you probably couldn’t tell by looking.

Is this the kind of thing that San Francisco wants? Apparently.

Anyway, the answer to wireless connectivity is more antennas, IMO. So this is good.

MOAR of this!

Click to expand

“SUNSET DISTRICT RESIDENTS BENEFIT FROM AT&T NETWORK UPGRADES WITH MORE COVERAGE, MORE CAPACITY

Enhancements Will Improve Connectivity and Performance for Mobile Voice and Data Network

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 — AT&T* today announced more network upgrades in the Sunset District of San Francisco designed to provide its customers faster speeds, increased reliability and best-in-class wireless service.

AT&T’s network enhancements include a new cell site designed to improve coverage in residential and commercial areas along Sloat Boulevard from Meadowbrook Drive to 39th Avenue, and on Sunset Boulevard from the intersection at Vicente Drive to Morningside Drive.

In addition to expanded coverage from the new cell site, AT&T has added additional capacity to more than 160 cell sites in San Francisco, including several across the Sunset District to help improve overall service.

“Adding more capacity to a cell site is like adding more lanes on the freeway so that voice and data traffic flows faster,” said Terry Stenzel, AT&T Vice President and General Manager for Northern California and Northern Nevada. “Whether customers are talking, texting, e-mailing, surfing the net, streaming music or video, using their favorite apps, or conducting business we want to make sure they have a good mobile broadband experience.”

“We’re investing in our network in the Sunset and in San Francisco because we’re committed to providing best-in-class wireless voice and data service to our customers,” said Ken McNeely, AT&T’s California President. “AT&T has invested nearly $775 million in its San Francisco Bay Area wireless and wireline networks from 2008-2010, and we will continue investing and making network improvements.”

AT&T’s mobile broadband network provides several important advantages for customers, including the ability to talk and surf at the same time. For instance, customers can look up directions to an event while still talking on the phone, or browse social media sites will chatting with a friend. AT&T also provides access to voice service in more than 220 countries and data service in more than 200 countries. Business Traveler magazine recently named AT&T as having the “Best Mobile Coverage in the World” – the fourth time AT&T has received the distinction.

In addition, most AT&T customers have access to nearly 27,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspots across the country, and nearly 800 across the San Francisco Bay Area at no extra charge. With half of AT&T customers now using smartphones, the popularity of Wi-Fi is soaring. In 2008, there were about 20 million connections to the AT&T Wi-Fi Network. In 2010, that skyrocketed to more than 320 million Wi-Fi connections, and in just the first 6 months of 2011 customers have made more than 443 million connections to the AT&T Wi-Fi Network.”

“A community meeting is being held on Monday, January 25th at 7:00 PM at the Park Chalet(located behind the Beach Chalet at 1000 Great Highway just south of Fulton in San Francisco) to discuss the proposed actions at Sloat Boulevard. The DPW Project Manager, Frank Filice will be there to discuss the emergency declaration, the short-term strategy, and a process for a long-term solution. Everyone who has an interest in the preservation and the future of Ocean Beach is encouraged to attend. The emergency declaration will go before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for ratification the following day, Tuesday, January 26th.”

“San Francisco – this is a derivative word from sand and Francisco. In the early settlement of this country it was the custom of an old monk of the interior, by the name of Jeremiah Francisco, to perform a pilgrimage to this place every month, to visit the tomb of a brother of the order whose remains he had here interred. The wind “blew like mad” here, and upon his return he was usually so covered with the dust and sand, that his neighbors were unable to recognize him; hence they soon began to call him sand Francisco.

On one of his pilgrimages he happened, by mistake, to die here, and the place ever after was called by his name. From the difficulty of enunciating the d, it was usually called SAN FRANCISCO, and has so continued to this day. The present popular notion that the place was named after the St. Francis Hotel is an error!